Most Christians acknowledge that Christ died for us. But the gospel presses deeper: we died with Him. This is not a mystical abstraction or a mere theological footnote—it is the decisive reality that severs the demands of sin and the Law from your life. If you miss this, you remain bound to a system that Christ has already crucified.
Dead to the Law, Joined to Christ
God, in His wisdom, did not merely forgive you and leave you under the old regime. Through Christ’s death, you were put to death to the Law itself. The Law’s demands and its power to condemn are finished for those in Christ. You are no longer tethered to a covenant of performance. Instead, you have been joined—married—to the risen Christ. This union is not optional or secondary; it is the only ground upon which true fruit to God can ever be borne.
“Wherefore, my brethren, ye also are become dead to the Law by the body of Christ; that ye should be married to another, even to him who is raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit unto God.”
— Romans 7:4
Fruitfulness is not the result of striving to keep commandments or redoubling your efforts at self-improvement. It is the outflow of Christ Himself as your life. The Law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the Law of sin and death. This is not a theory—it is the only way to live unto God.
The Futility of Self-Effort
Whenever you attempt to fulfill the Law or keep commandments by your own effort, you return to the very bondage from which Christ delivered you. The result is always futility—no true fruit, only frustration and spiritual death. The “law of sin and death” is not overcome by your willpower. It is only overcome by the higher law: the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus.
“For the Law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the Law of sin and death.”
— Romans 8:2“And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.”
— Romans 8:10-11
The Mind Set on the Spirit
The practical question is this: Where is your mind set? The carnal mind—focused on the flesh, on self, on performance—produces nothing but death and enmity against God. It cannot submit to God’s Law, nor can it please Him. But the mind set on the Spirit—agreeing with the Spirit’s testimony about Christ’s finished work—results in life and peace. This is not psychological self-talk; it is the Spirit’s own witness, and to ignore it is to forfeit the very life Christ died to give.
“For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the Law of God, neither indeed can be.”
— Romans 8:5-7
The Spirit of Adoption, Not Bondage
God has not given you a spirit of bondage again to fear. If you return to a system of law-keeping, you will inevitably fall back into fear and slavery. But God has given you the Spirit of adoption. The Spirit Himself bears witness with your spirit that you are a child of God—an heir, not a hireling. You cry, “Abba, Father,” not because you have earned your place, but because Christ has secured it for you.
“For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God.”
— Romans 8:15-16
What Is Lost If You Miss This?
If you reject or neglect this truth—if you cling to law-keeping or self-effort as your means of fruitfulness—you lose everything that Christ accomplished for you. You forfeit freedom, fruitfulness, and the assurance of sonship. You exchange the Spirit of adoption for a spirit of bondage and fear. You trade life and peace for death and enmity. This is not a peripheral matter; it is the heart of the gospel and the basis of your sanctification, inheritance, and identity as a child of God.
The Only Way Forward
Do not settle for a gospel that leaves you striving under the Law. Rest in your union with Christ. Agree with the Spirit’s testimony concerning what He has accomplished. Only then will you experience the reality of life, peace, and true fruitfulness to God. Anything less is to fall short of the grace that is yours in Christ.
To go deeper into these truths, read Christ as Satisfaction.
